Alcohol labels to show drink advice

By the end of 2008 all alcoholic drinks labels must include sensible drinking advice, the government has announced.

Labels will be expected to include how many alcoholic units are in the drink as well as the government's safe drinking guidelines, including the advice that pregnant women should not drink any alcohol.

Although most people are aware of units as a measure of alcohol consumption, just 13 per cent of people keep a check on the number of units as they drink.

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The Department of Health hopes that the labelling will help people to keep an eye on their intake more easily. It advises that men drink no more than three to four units a day and women no more than two to three units daily.

Public health minister Caroline Flint described the decision on labelling as a "landmark voluntary agreement".

"We want to make it as simple as possible for people to keep an eye on how much they are drinking and help them take the responsibility for lessening the impact excess alcohol can have on their health," she said.

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